Imposter RN Hired and Allowed to Function Without Proper Verification
Penalty
Summary
Administration failed to ensure that nursing services were provided by qualified personnel when an unlicensed individual was hired and worked as an RN using another nurse’s Tennessee license. Facility policy titled “Abuse Program Policy” required pre-employment screening, including obtaining a copy of the state license for licensed positions and completing a criminal background check per state statute. The application for employment for the imposter nurse contained a scratched-out Social Security Number (SSN) with a different SSN written above that did not match the SSN on the I-9 form, and the birth date on the application also did not match the I-9. The background screening report showed an SSN and birth date that did not match the I-9 and included a note stating “UNABLE TO VALIDATE SSN.” A W-4 form contained an SSN that did not match the background check. The I-9 form listed the imposter’s legal first and last name, with a Social Security card and valid Tennessee driver’s license, but the birth date on the I-9 differed from the birth date on the background check. Review of the personnel file revealed no evidence that an abuse registry check was completed prior to hire, and there was no evidence that a license verification was done before the imposter nurse’s start date. Time cards showed the imposter worked multiple days in February and March as a Unit Manager. A later QuickConfirm license verification showed that the last name on the validated RN license did not match the imposter’s last name. Interviews with the DON, HR representative, and Administrator confirmed that the imposter was a walk-in applicant who did not provide a resume, that in-house HR was responsible for ordering background checks with corporate as backup, and that the imposter worked in the facility as a Unit Manager and was only separated as a voluntary termination for inability to uphold weekend schedule obligations. There was no evidence that the facility questioned the discrepancies in names, birth dates, or SSNs on the pre-employment documents, resulting in the employment of an unqualified person to render nursing services as an RN.
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